Tobacco jar, Chailey, 1811
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1811
Tobacco jar, Chailey, 1811 is an object recorded by Victoria and Albert Museum, dated 1811. The museum's brief description reads: Cylindrical tobacco jar of red lead-glazed earthenware with inlaid decoration.
English, probably made in Chailey, Sussex, dated 1811.. Museum description: Tobacco jar of red earthenware, decorated with an inscription and stars impressed and filled with white clay, the whole being covered with a yellow glaze. Cylindrical in shape with an inscription 'E.C. FEBUARY [sic]. 18. 1811', and is placed between two bands of stars arranged in interlacing semicircles. The museum record gives material recorded as lead glaze, earthenware; measurements Height 13 cm; Diameter 12.1 cm; place associated: Chailey.
These details come from the holding museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Every region had its local style, and the more isolated the potteries, the more idiosyncratic their products. Sussex had boasted potteries with a distinct local character since the early 18th century, but by the end of the eighteenth century these potteries began to develop techniques that were unique to the area: namely, inlaying the russet-brown iron-flecked body with printers’ type and metal stamps of tiny stars or other shapes, all filled with white slip and carefully scraped clean. A version of this also spread across the Kent border in the early nineteenth century to High Halden in Kent, where red clay storage jars were decorated with fronds of foliage, gouged or impressed and filled with white slip. At Brede in Sussex, a particular style of decoration with bands of interlaced hoops of stars flourished in the 1790s, usually found on cylindrical tobacco jars or tea canisters. Inlaid wares were also made at East Grinstead, and from the 1790s at Chailey, where the potters developed the technique into an elaborate art form. Taken from Robin HIldyard, English Pottery 1620-1840, V&A Publications, 2005
Physical characteristics
- Material
- lead glaze, earthenware
- Dimensions
- Height 13 cm; Diameter 12.1 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Lead-glazed earthenware with inlaid decoration
- Place recorded
- Chailey
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- 'E.C. FEBUARY [sic]. 18. 1811'; '4'
Identification
- Museum object name
- Tobacco jar
- Museum object number
- 3723-1901
- Museum system number
- O149850
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm materials, dimensions, maker and wider type against the holding institution and a specialist reference.